Seahawks Edge Bucs for Bayside Title

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s boys’ varsity lacrosse team won a thriller this week, beating Kent Island, 10-9, on Tuesday to win the Bayside Conference championship at Washington College.

The Bayside championship was just the second ever for the Decatur, which won the conference title in 2006, and came after Coach Scott Lathroum’s first season at the helm of the program. The Seahawks finished the regular season with a 10-1 record, their only loss coming to Kent Island, 14-9, back on March 28. On Tuesday, Decatur exacted a little revenge, beating the Buccaneers, 10-9, in the thriller to take the conference championship for the second time in school history.

The game featured three ties including a back-and-forth third quarter during which Kent Island pulled even with the Seahawks on a couple of occasions but could not break through. Decatur jumped out to an early lead in the frantic first quarter including an acrobatic goal by Johnny Moore to make it 3-0 as the period expired.

Kent Island rebounded, scoring three goals early in the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3. The Buccaneers threatened to take their first lead of the game after a penalty landed goalkeeper Brooks Gilbert in the penalty box, but stand-in Chad Tobias and the Decatur defense held. Andrew Ternahan scored two goals late in the second to stake the Seahawks to a 5-3 lead at the half.

Kent Island tied the game again in the third with two goals to make it 5-5. The two teams then swapped goals with Decatur taking the lead and the Buccaneers responding. A goal by Matt LeCompte but Decatur ahead, 7-6, but Kent Island came right back and tied it a 7-7 as the third quarter expired.

In the fourth, goals by Ternahan and LeCompte put Decatur ahead for good at 9-7. Kent Island cut the lead to 9-8, but after a huge save by Gilbert, Ternahan launched a scorcher from the perimeter to extend Decatur’s lead to 10-8. Of course, Kent Island would not go down easy and cut the lead to one at 10-9 with a goal with under two minutes to play. However, the Seahawks were able to run out the clock and held on for the dramatic 10-9 win, touching off a wild celebration on the field.

With the victory, Decatur won the Bayside championship and avenged an early season loss to Kent Island, but the game could be just the second part of what might be a trilogy. When the state 3A-2A East region brackets were released this week, Kent Island was named the top seed in the District 8 sectional, while Decatur was named the number-two seed.

The Seahawks earned a first-round bye and will play Queen Anne’s in the second round. Kent Island will play the winner of the first round game between Easton and Bennett. If both teams survive tough second round games, Decatur and Kent Island could meet for the third time this season.